May 4, 2020 Content Chat Recap: How Will You Refine Your Content Marketing Strategy For The Rest Of 2020?

As communicators, it’s vital for us to stay agile and pivot when necessary to best serve our audiences, and the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of us to drastically overhaul our 2020 marketing plans. So, where do we go from here with so much uncertainty ahead?

This week on #ContentChat, the community discussed how we are shifting our marketing plans in response to the crisis. Read below for the full conversation, including the KPIs we’re using to define success, what we’re doing about our in-person event strategy, and how we are continuing to provide value for our audiences.

Q1: How has COVID-19 and the resulting shelter-in-place mandates changed your business/industry? And how has it affected your content marketing to date?

The full effects of COVID-19 continue to unfold, but in these first months, we’ve seen an understandable shift toward digital platforms and content types. Social media, in particular, has become a focus for companies of all sizes, especially given that the news media landscape has faced significant turbulence during the pandemic.

A1a: As a content marketing consultant, I’ve seen clients with engagement increases on social channels that were a lot more passive previously. I’ve also seen a shift away from PR and towards content marketing due to media furloughs and layoffs. #ContentChathttps://t.co/AR1EL3nnMP

A1. A lot of people are taking their training online. And since we teach psychology-driven email marketing specifically to course creators, coaches and membership site owners we’ve seen a lot of new interest sniffing around us, which has ben lovely. #ContentChat

I’ve seen PR people share content on their social media (and done this myself) that advocates for the necessity of PR right now. Lol. Example here: https://t.co/Ow2prVJGcj so they’re basically getting third party endorsers for their work and purpose and sharing it. #contentchat

There’s been a lot of action in my world. My #datascience media company is based completely online and I’ve had more of a captive audience. Also people are investing in self-improvement now and wanting to learn about programming so that’s been good. #ContentChathttps://t.co/2IyHmq61qR

A1. The clients I work with have tweaked their content strategy to include more remote work and remote teams related content. So that’s the impact I’ve been noticing (the shift in focus). I’m not see vast differences in the SaaS industry although I could be wrong. #ContentChat

Most, if not all, content is now approached through the remote work lens. It is best to provide content that helps your audience navigate this situation, preferably in a positive and uplifting way.

A1: Since we work with clients in the healthcare space, it has affected our work a ton. Since many of our clients are on the front lines, we focused our efforts on providing resources that could help them in their jobs + their lives at home. #ContentChat

That’s the case for us! We pivoted to mostly share examples of companies living the idea that “doing and saying the right thing is good business” (because that’s our brand purpose), and our social metrics have gone up significantly. People like positivity. #contentchat

Sensitivities are heightened and there are new considerations for content creators. Consider using visuals that complement the principles of social distancing.

A1 COVID-19 changed our content in many ways, but one unspoken way was in our photo choices: We didn’t want to show people shaking hands or sitting/standing too close, etc. … and no face masks. It created an interesting creative challenge for a while. #contentchat

At a minimum, review your content KPIs to see what is responding best with your audience during this time. If possible, consider surveying your audience so you can even further understand their needs.

Those who have kept their jobs in PR are as busy as ever. They are mostly working on reputation/thought leadership/surveys and tapping into the COVID newsworthiness/relevance to their business. Showing the empathy, etc. Those who lost their jobs are finding it tough #contentchat

Q2: What external KPIs are you looking for before moving ahead with a new content strategy for the remainder of the year?

Tracking KPIs can help you adjust your content strategy, and use UTMs to more accurately attribute leads. In Martin’s case, his audience has been responding well to ebooks and his team plans to invest more heavily in those.

A2] Given the disruptions due to COVID-19 and the potential for economic downturn, I recommend auditing your existing content (including Google Analytics and Search tools) to find the gems to improve traffic. #contentchathttps://t.co/wtXo6z07vl

A2 We’re starting to see where our leads are coming from, and will likely shift our attention there. So, we may scale back blog post production and focus on ebooks, for example. Still TBD, but talks have begun. #contentchat

Blogs are “soft” leads. Can’t always prove connection. But ebooks are gated, so we collect data on folks who want to access them. Unfortunately, it makes blog posts seem less useful. As I say, it’s a work in progress, but we’re letting data guide our decision making. #contentchat

We recommend taking a short term look at your KPIs and to not assume that your content performance during these first months of the pandemic is indicative of a longer-term trend.

A2. We are making shorter term KPIs which are still very much focused on the growth of our Podcast. But listenership changes based on lockdown because people find out where listening to podcasts fits into their days. It was commuting and the gym #ContentChat

I think that’s smart—I’ve been counseling clients on not reading too much into the results we’ve seen for the first 4 months of the year. Sure, it *may* be a longer-term trend, but it’s really hard to know given the vast deviation from the norm. #ContentChat

Customer retention is an especially important KPI to track—including why customers are leaving—so you can focus on activities that are proven to keep your customers happy.

I think it’s now mostly about customer retention – let’s do all we can to retain the customers we have. So it’s content built around community, and thank-you for being a special part of our community/service, we value you and are here for you during this time, etc. #contentchat

All in-person activity plans should be put into question. For conferences in Q4, many marketers are waiting to see whether events start to cancel, although there are already rumblings that in-person events likely won’t return until mid-2021. During this time, you could survey your audience to gauge whether they would even be interested in an in-person event this year.

A2: Conference attendance was a big part of my content strategy for the year. I’m waiting to be certain about my Q4 conferences in particular before rebooting my plans. #ContentChathttps://t.co/OalvHapEzb

A2b: I am thinking of having a plan A and a plan B strategy defined, b/c you can’t really wait and see for the entire year. But it’s difficult to invest a lot in promoting and planning for conference-related events when you don’t know if they are going to happen. #ContentChat

I read that Apple (or Microsoft) one of the biggies has pushed all conferences to 2021. Safe bet no in person conferences happen this year. Our government and leaders can’t decide when to open up and it keeps dragging on. Best to wipe the year completely (probably) #contentchat

One thing is certain: there is a lot of potential in the digital event space, and your audience may come to desire these event experiences even after social distancing is no longer needed. We can expect digital events to try and replicate in-person experiences where possible—primarily the networking opportunities—and new tech solutions and services will likely be introduced to fill this need.

It’s been a great time to test virtual events, get all the kinks out now. Do you think they have a future after lockdown is lifted? #ContentChat

I think they definitely do. Many people won’t be willing to travel or attend in-person events. And we’ll inevitably have a resurgence of this or other similar viruses in the future, so I suspect online conferences will definitely keep going. #ContentChat

I think even the people that go back to a lot of in-person conferences will still also go to online conferences. Online conferences allow you to attend events that you’d not be able to normally. For many they will both be important parts of their experience. #contentchat

A portion of my business was (will be again) training people for presentations/keynotes/workshops at conferences. A lot has been cancelled/postponed. On the flip side, I’ve been working with more people on how to present online. #contentchat

We’re looking at engagement with blog content, but in particular, anything that may be related to COVID-19. We want to make sure we monitor any drop-off there and shift the strategy when we need to. #contentchat

Whichever KPI(s) you track, temper your expectations based on this new normal.

Q4: Looking at your 2020 content strategy, what did you plan that is still on track?

There are still a lot of activities that are on track for our community. Take a page from Ed’s playbook to reset with your clients, and remember there are still plenty of opportunities to engage with and genuinely help your audience.

A4: Current client projects are all “on track”, but only b/c we reached out personally to each, and offered a blank sheet of paper or a re-set (a frank discussion) first. #ContentChathttps://t.co/yJ2Hie7Biw

For my site, one blog post per month and an incoming eBook is still on track. Also, planning on launching my newsletter – felt a little undecided when all this started, but I’m thinking there’s nothing to be worried about and life has to go on. #ContentChat

I’m getting a lot of calls/emails from clients or potential clients that I met a while ago that are saying, “Remember that thing we talked about but I had no time for? Well, I have time now…” #ContentChat

A4: We had to refocus a lot of our content strategy. We’re still focusing on updating the content on our site, but our blog strategy has shifted dramatically and we’re working to help others figure out how to do the same: https://t.co/XQeamRAupV

A4: Keepin’ on keepin’ on. But we’re trying to stay even more nimble + flexible. Also, exploring new + different marketing opportunities that we may have normally pushed out or passed up, but have more bandwidth for because the conference schedule has changed. #ContentChat